Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe

Sant'Apollinare in Classe is a late-antique basilica built in the second quarter of the 6th century on the site of Classis, Ravenna's ancient Adriatic harbour. Dedicated to Apollinaris, the first bishop and martyr of Ravenna, it was begun under Archbishop Ursicinus and consecrated in 549 AD — at a moment when Ravenna served as the western seat of the Byzantine Empire. The three-aisled nave follows the form of Roman civic basilicas, but the defining feature is the apse mosaic: a vast 6th-century gold composition depicting Saint Apollinaris among twelve sheep in a stylised paradise, considered one of the finest and best-preserved Byzantine mosaics in existence. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage site 'Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna', the basilica is open to visitors most days, its freestanding cylindrical campanile visible across the flat Po Delta plain from a considerable distance.